This invention relates to vacuum cleaners, and more particularly to cleaners of the tank or canister type in which a motor-fan unit and dust-separating means are contained within an elongated housing mounted on wheels or the like for movably supporting the housing on a horizontal surface such as a floor.
In the well known designs of canister vacuum cleaners, the opposed extremities of the canister are provided with a suction port and exhaust port. A flexible suction hose removably attaches to the suction port and to a rigid tube or wand, usually bent or curved, which in turn communicates with a suction cleaning tool. The hose serves the dual purpose of establishing a fluid connection between the cleaning tool and the canister, and of transmitting force to the canister for pulling it around on the floor.
In those applications where it is inconvenient or undesirable to pull the canister horizontally about the floor, other well known designs of vacuum cleaners, called "uprights" can be employed wherein the canister is mounted to a rigid, upwardly directed post pivotably associated with a carpet-sweeper type of suction cleaning tool adapted for rolling motion upon the floor.
Canister-type vacuum cleaners sufficiently versatile to permit the canister to operate in the horizontal, hose-dragged mode or in an upright mode have not heretofore been disclosed.
Floor-cleaning accessory devices in the nature of carpet-sweeper suction heads for use with vacuum cleaners are well known. Such heads are generally equipped with beater brushes driven by an electric motor. The effect of the beater brushes is to dislodge particulate matter, causing it to become suspended in the air stream flowing to the fan. The efficiency of such suction heads is usually dependent upon the amount of beating energy expended and the volume of the suction air flow, both factors having certain practical limitations.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a canister-type vacuum cleaner apparatus wherein said canister may be utilized in either a horizontal, hose-dragged mode, or in an upright mode attached to an upwardly directed rigid member.
It is another object of this invention to provide a vacuum cleaner and suction head combination wherein the efficiency of said suction head is increased without increasing the power of the motors which drive the fan or beater brushes.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.